Electric vehicles are limited by current infrastructure for transferring power to the electric vehicles. Some electric vehicles, such as electric trains and light rail cars, are permanently connected to a power source through hardware in the railing or through overhead lines. Other electric vehicles, such as electric cars, are charged by plugging in the electric vehicle at a charging station.
While systems for maintaining a permanent electrical connection along a route taken by an electric vehicle can be used to transfer power to the electric vehicle, these systems are an eyesore, are unpopular, are costly to install and maintain, and can be unsafe. These systems often require the entire electric bus line to be suspended for periods of time while cities perform routing building maintenance or construction. Some of these systems do not enable an electrical vehicle to run independent of a railing or overhead line. Also, some of these systems are not adaptable to different vehicles with different characteristics. Furthermore, these systems may take a significant amount of time or effort to charge.
Thus, there is a need to develop improved systems and methods for charging electric vehicles.